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Monday, April 27, 2009

The easiest, cheapest, custom drapes EVER.

Have you ever lived with something in your house for years and YEARS, not in love with it, but liking it OK, just fine with it?

And then you change one little thing in the room and it sets you off on this roll that is very unbeneficial to the pocket book?

That's me.

I've been transforming our loft into the toy room and am trying to walk the very fine line between a cozy space for the adults and a total kid space.

I had drapes in the room that I bought for our previous place that were a faux silk (I think the fancy name is polyester) and were very shiny.

Like I said, for years, I thought they were just OK. Especially when it was just an extra room we only used once and a while. But then when I started making changes, they were too heavy and all wrong for the lighthearted space I was trying to create.

So I went looking and found exactly what I was looking for -- muslin! It's basically just a cotton, gauzy-type fabric. And whoooeee, it is CHEAP! I didn't even hem it -- I love the frayed edges:I found fabric for the toppers long ago -- they are my favorite part:

This is SO EASY. I promise you can make these by yourself in less than 20 minutes. Just find a fabric you love, and get about a yard an a half of it (18 inches or so) for each treatment. (You can do whatever size you want, but I like to stick with this measurement.)

Use your hemming tape to hem up all the edges:

Then just hang it from the clips, like I showed you here, on top of the main drapery fabric:

Then, to make sure they stay put and look like they are sewn together, just use a pin on each side:

You won't even remember they are there, let alone anyone else noticing them!

The great thing about this project is you can use just about anything for the main part of the drape -- sheets, old window treatments -- any fabric. Then you can splurge on a loverly fabric for the topper (on sale, with a coupon of course).

The muslin was only $15 for five yards. And it was 108 inches wide, so I really didn't need that much. I could have easily gotten away with three yards (these are really long drapes) and spent less than $10 for both:

I usually add lining to my drapes, but I love the way these let the light in the room:

I'm almost done with little tweaks in the toy room, and will show you soon. (I know I keep saying that!)

P.S. Remember the phone I taped together, in a sad, sad effort to avoid spending money on a new one (so I could spend it on other things)?? Well, this is it tonight:

My sweet, loving, two-year-old threw it. Outside. On the concrete. See those two wires sticking out? Those were the only things holding it together. And when I made him pick it up and bring it to me, he decided to pull the two parts apart. SNAP!!

Do you have insurance on your phone? If so, your service provider may cover that damage for free. I am not kidding. My son put a pencil through my phone, and when I took it in I learned the deductible only applied if I (1) lost the phone, or (2) got it wet. Everything else was covered 100%. I got a free upgraded phone out of the deal.

Absolutely love the texture on the muslin! I like it frayed, too. It shows this is a room that's for fun, not formality. I've never had lined curtains; all my curtains are left open except the LR where I use white cotton. I saw curtains made from scrim once; I'd love to try that.

I got a new cell phone for free from my company; a lot of them have special offers/rebates. Hope you can find something with the features you want at an affordable price.

Thanks for this idea! I hung beige sheets up in my living room last month, and as much as I love them, I knew they needed something to make them pop. And I bought some fabric I love on clearance awhile back so this will be perfect! (-:

And, ohhh, your poor phone. Maybe it's for the best, though. I can just imagine you two years from now using a phone covered in superglue, duct tape, electrical tape, and bunny ears you found at a garage sale attached...lol...you know the antenae kind...not the actual bunny kind.

A moment of silence here for the passing of your *beloved* phone. It does suck to have to shell out the $$ for stuff like that. Love the window treatments...one of these days I'll work up the nerve to try it. :) How did your girls' party go?? Mine is tonight and my own (little) girls have completely trashed my house. Deep breath..."serenity now, serenity now." ;)

LOVE that muslin with the frayed edges! I can totally relate to the phone thing. I HATE spending money on a new phone. I slammed mine in the back door of my suburban, it flew across the parking lot and cracked the front of the screen open. It still worked, I just couldn't tell who was calling or if I was dialing the right number. I used it like that for over 2 years. I was ridiculed and laughed at incessantly, but it's all good!

I've just spent the morning reading your blog (because I have that kind of time at work) and have really enjoyed it. Love the ideas and have a nice list of things I want to do. I think the first will be moulding in the bathroom that I'm very excited about. Also, the 'welcome' letters on your front door...LOVE that. Looking forward to reading more.

Brilliant idea! We're doing an addition onto our family room and I *really* want gorgeous toile drapes...but I know I can't afford to do that. But THIS I can afford...muslin topped with toile! :) Thanks for the idea!

What a great idea for your curtains! I got some red striped fabric that isn't colorfast for mine. I was about to give up until I saw what you did here!I don't have to sew it on my white drapes, just clip and pin! Thanks so much! Now I can actually MAKE my "toppers"! Yours look fantastic! Someone else used drop cloths for their drapes. I do like the muslin though! You are SO creative!

That is so awesome. I have these drapes hanging in our bedroom, that I made especially to keep light out (my husband works nights) and have wanted to change them, but didn't want to make new ones. I am going to just hang other fabric over them using this technique!Thanks for sharing

I LOVELOVELOVE your blog. Very inspirational! I found this blog (http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2009/02/make-shades-out-of-mini-blinds.html) on Monday and had to try it for my self; MIRACULOUS! Really amazing.

Who knew you could make roman shades from your old miniblinds?

My toddlers had broken several slats on their miniblinds, but I was able to salvage them and create a beautiful, knew Roman shade in an hour!

I just found your blog. LURVE! You crack me up. I, too, am thrifty but I don't seem to follow through with my projects. I have been wanting to redo our master by adding drapes and I think your muslin is the ticket. Thank you for the wonderful ideas. Can't wait to so some paper mache ghosts with my 5 year old this fall. She will LOVE it! Keep up the great work.

I love this idea for your curtains. I SEW - and I never thought of this! My favorite was the phone, though. It reminded me of when my daughter was a baby. We were at the grocery store with my new tiny calculator that chimed. She was so fascinated with it that as soon as I got too close, she grabbed it and tossed it straight to the tile floor. It shattered in a million tiny pieces. Kids are great! LOL!